12 Days of Christmas
by writer writing
Summary: Lois and Clark get closer over 12 days of Christmas.
1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree

_On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

"This is nothing but crap. I hate Christmas!" Lois grumbled.

"You've only said that for about the millionth time, Scrooge," Clark replied.

"I can't help it if this is a stupid assignment, writing on the Christmas traditions of the average Kansas farm family. It's a stupid story, and I wouldn't call anybody in Smallville average. Grant would have never made me do this."

Lois saw Clark stiffen, and she doubted it had anything to do with the cold. He'd never been a fan of her boyfriends and with Grant, she conceded he had been a jerk. The Luthor blood in him she supposed. The one boyfriend she needed Clark to chase off, excluding Graham, and he'd been too preoccupied with his own love life. A love life he was still preoccupied with. It was her turn to stiffen. Here of late she liked Lana less and less, but she was convinced it had nothing to do with her feelings toward him and more to do with that for over a year now she'd seen very little of one of her closest friends. She knew Lana played a part in that, but they had to be together now for this story.

Clark, Kara, Martha, and grudgingly Lana, as they all called the Kent farm home, were her assignment thanks to her new editor, Perry White. She did like the new editor though, just not this story. Grant had been a puppet for hiding Luthor corruption stories, hence why he never published her stories. She shuddered to think she'd actually kissed a Luthor. It was apparent something in their genes made them evil scumbags, who were good at hiding it. Now that he was gone, her stories were finally getting published for the most part. However, Perry had said it was well and good to be bringing in hard hitting stories, but it took a true reporter to take a mundane, overused, fluff piece and turn it into a good story. It was a mini-column, where she would spend the 12 days leading up to Christmas, reporting on a different tradition each day. She also had a feeling Perry knew it was the only way she would take a break, however, it wasn't a true break because she found the holiday stressful.

Besides, tracking up the foot of a mountain in freezing temperatures all in pursuit of a real Christmas tree was not her idea of fun. "Clark, this is stupid. It's cold. The snow is making it difficult to walk. I could be in front of a roaring fire with a cup of hot chocolate right now. Let's just go back to Smallville, where there is no snow I might add, and buy a plastic tree."

"It wouldn't be true to your article. It would be the tradition of a typical apartment-dwelling city girl. "

"That's where you're wrong. I don't put up a tree."

"It seems to me you were the one who brought that little Charlie Brown Christmas tree for your apartment last year."

"Shut up, Smallville," she said, annoyed he remembered that. She just hoped he didn't know she felt a weird sympathy for little trees nobody wanted, but she had a feeling he did. "The needles shed all over the house, you have to change the water, and it's a fire hazard. Get with the 21st century. There's a lot to be said for putting together a fake Christmas tree. It can be a fun family project. The tree can come pre-lit, so there's no hassle over untangling lights. You spray a little pine scent and it's as good as the real thing."

"A real tree is a real tree."

"Oh, that was deep, Clark," she said with a roll of her eyes. "If you insist on a real tree, why can't we just pick up a tree at the local tree lot?"

"The Kent family has been getting their trees from this mountain for generations."

"Let me tell you a story, Smallville."

"Oh, boy," he sighed, clearly not looking forward to it. "If it'll keep your mind off the cold, go ahead."

"It won't but thanks anyway. Once upon a time there was this little girl named Anne. She was fixing a ham with her mother and they had to cut it in half to fit it in the little pan. This doubled the time because they had to bake twice. Puzzled, the girl asked, 'Mommy, why don't we just get a bigger pan?' Her mother replied, 'I don't know, Anne. It's just the way it's always been done, tradition. The pan's always been this size. Maybe if you ask my mother, your grandmother, she'll know. I learned it from her.' So Anne went to her grandmother and repeated the question, 'Why do we use such a small pan to roast the meat in when we could just get a bigger one?' 'I don't know Anne. It's just the way it's always been done. My mother, your great-grandmother, taught it to me. Why don't you ask her?' Anne went to see her great grandmother and repeated the question, 'Why do we use such a small pan when we could use a bigger one?' 'I don't know-"

"Is there a point to this story?"

"Patience, grasshopper. Anyway, the great-grandmother didn't know either, 'It's just the way it's always been done, Anne. My mother, your great-great grandmother, may know the answer.' So Anne approached the oldest member of the family and asked, 'Why do we use a small pan instead of a big one?' 'Because, Anne, in my day the stoves were smaller and a big pan wouldn't fit in it.' The moral of the story is just because something's always been done that way doesn't mean it's necessarily the best way."

"And sometimes it's nice to have family traditions that get passed down. It makes you feel connected to the past."

"Fine, but if I get frostbite or hypothermia, my death will be on your hands."

"I can live with that."

She picked up a snowball and nailed him in the back.

He laughed. "Relax and take in your surroundings. It's a beautiful place."

"Not in the winter, it isn't. Hey, look there's a nice tree," she said, pointing.

He followed her finger to the tree she was pointing at, "Lois, that's an oak."

"So?"

"So it's not green."

"Put on some lights and ornaments and no one can tell the difference."

He shook his head, "You're insufferable, you know that?"

15 minutes and a few 100 footprints later, they ran into the first pine.

"At last," Lois cried, "Now chop it down with your axe."

"It's too small."

She pointed at another one a few feet away, "Then that one."

"Are you kidding me? It's bigger than our house."

"Then cut the top off."

"Lois."

"Clark, I can't feel my feet anymore."

He quickly scanned the vicinity, "That one up there looks good."

It didn't take long to chop it down. Lois was impressed. It took some strength to bring the tree down in 3 strokes but she didn't tell him that. "I hope you know I'm not helping you drag that thing. It's your tree, you take care of it."

"Fair enough," he started going off to the side, instead of back down.

"I've heard of a bad sense of direction, but this is ridiculous. Follow the footprints, Smallville."

"We're not going back down yet," he said with a smile. "Follow me."

"Clark, I wasn't kidding about my feet. If we're out here any longer, I'm going to turn into a human popsicle."

"Would you just trust me? It's a surprise."

She followed him, but she wanted desperately to get back inside the heated car. It wasn't long before they came upon a cute, little cabin. It looked like it was right off of a winter scene on a coffee mug. "Is this yours?" she asked dumbfounded.

"No," he said, laying the tree down and fishing for a key. "It belongs to a friend of the family. He always lets us borrow it when we come up here to give us a chance to thaw before we have to hike back down." He got the door open and then tried to shake off the key, but it was stuck to his hand.

"Sap on the sap," Lois laughed, but she helped him pull it off.

Clark went to get a fire going.

"I'm surprised nobody else came along," Lois commented.

"Well, Kara doesn't really see the point of all the Christmas traditions. Lana doesn't like hikes unless it's on horseback. Mom's still stuck in Washington. Everybody else is working."

"I bet you Lana didn't know about the cabin."

"What does that mean?" he asked, pumping air on the fire.

"Nothing. I just meant she might want to see the cabin." What she really meant was that Lana was extra possessive of him as of late, particularly around her, and that if she knew they were going to be alone together in a cozy, little cabin, instead of the freezing wilderness, she might have wanted to tag along. However, Lois didn't want to jeopardize her relationship with Clark. It had become so fragile lately because they hadn't seen much of each other and because of Lana.

"I think there's cocoa in the kitchen," he said going over to the tiny kitchenette, "Yep. See, Lois? It's part of the magic of Christmas. You wanted a roaring fire and hot chocolate, and now you have it."

"Magic my foot," she said, warming her hands next to the fire.

"What, don't believe in Christmas magic?" he asked, putting the hot chocolate on the stove to warm up.

"No, I don't."

He handed her a miniature tree with a fake bird in it. It had been sitting on the coffee table.

"What's this?"

"It's a partridge in a pear tree. It doesn't get more Christmassy than that."

"What a tacky decoration," she said, taking the tree and frowning.

"Don't you know the song. On the-"

"I know the song. I just think it's a nonsensical song."

"Not really. All the things in the song stand for Christian symbols. The true love is God and the partridge is Jesus. A partridge is well known for protecting her nestlings."

"Really?"

It's a theory. Some people think somebody made it up and it is just an earthly suitor giving a bunch of weird gifts. There's not really evidence for either one. Technically, the 12 days don't start until Christmas day, but only liturgical churches actually celebrate the 12 days. I can tell you what all the symbols mean if you like."

"That's okay. I believe you. You know, it takes a real geek to know all that or at least someone who's way too into Christmas. In your case, I'd say it's both."

He went to get the hot chocolate off the stove and brought her back a mug.

"It's good," she said, after she took a sip. She set her mug down and felt the plastic bird in the tree and laughed. "Now I can actually say I got a partridge in a pear tree for Christmas."


	2. 2 Turtle Doves

_On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

Lois grouchily got out of her car and headed toward the door. It was too early in the morning. Clark had called and woken her up at 6:00 a.m. to start today's tradition, decorating. She had gotten there 2 hours later. She resented being woken up early.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Clark said. Lana just gave her a nod.

When she looked around there was a big stack of boxes marked Christmas. "I thought you said you were starting at 7:00?"

"So then you do realize it's 8:00? We couldn't let you miss any of the decorating. Lana and I decided to wait on you."

"I was hoping you'd finished or at least made a good start," she said. "Well, let's hurry up and get this over with. What's first on the agenda?"

"Decorating the tree," he said, standing up. "And speaking of trees, I read your article on the ancient art of tree picking."

"You liked it?" she asked when she saw his smile. "It was dripping with sarcasm."

"Yeah, but it was you. It was original. You had just the right amount of poking fun without being irreverent about the holiday itself, and obviously your editor liked it."

"Thanks, Smallville. I guess he did."

"It was really good," he assured her and then picked up a box with lights in it. He turned to Lana. "Can you look for the ornaments? They're stuffed down in one of the boxes. There should be about 3 tin cans worth. Is that okay with you?"

Lana didn't look thrilled and looked tempted to say something but saw Lois. She nodded instead, and Clark kissed her cheek.

"I'm not covering the tradition of mistletoe yet, you two," Lois said annoyed. "I want to get home tonight."

He came over and set the box down, "Try to have a little fun decorating."

"Then how could I write my sarcastic articles?" she asked with a smile.

"Here's one," he said, handing her a tangled set of lights. Then he got out his own and started working on the knots.

"The tree's only going to take one, isn't it?" Lois asked.

"We have to untangle some for outside."

"Am I going to be here all day?" she asked with a groan.

"Yes, Clark, is she going to be here all day?" Lana griped as she pulled out a can.

"As long as it takes," he answered. "It's a part of the assignment."

Lois was getting frustrated with the knots and pulled as hard as she could.

He put down his own string of lights, "Gently, if you tug too hard you'll only make the knots harder to get undone."

"How in the heck do they in this condition anyway? You place them in untangled, they don't move for a whole year, and somehow they get knotted."

"It's more of that Christmas magic," he said with a grin.

She tugged at it gently with her teeth.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. You have to do it slowly and look at it closely. See," he said, putting his finger on the knot. "Look how it's been formed. Take the center and tug."

Lana set the tin cans down noisily to remind them of her presence. They were only a couple inches apart in their attempts to untangle the lights and their hands were getting ready to brush against each other. They were about to create electricity without the lights being plugged in. Lana didn't like this 12-days-of-Christmas situation at all, but what could she do about it other than outright forbid Clark to ever see Lois again.

Lana cleared her throat. "How about Clark and I handle lights. We need popcorn for the garland. Why don't you get started on that?" she asked sweetly.

Lois was hesitant at first. If there was one thing she was worse at than untangling lights, it was making anything in the kitchen, but she felt the awkwardness that settled as she and Clark noticed their proximity and Lana's territorialness.

It was needless to say Lois came back with a bowlful of black popcorn. He and Lana had finished untangling the lights. Clark laughed and popped a couple of pieces in his mouth. Lana and Lois gave him disbelieving, disgusted looks.

"So I like burnt popcorn? It's one of the few foods that tastes good burnt."

"Well good then," Lana said. "That means the popcorn won't go to waste. We can't use black popcorn. It's Christmas, not Halloween." She sighed and headed for the kitchen, "I'll fix it."

Lois looked at Clark apologetically. "I am trying to help with decorating. It's just not my thing. I can't channel Martha Stewart."

He smiled. "I know. Lana should have known better than to have you help in the kitchen."

"Thanks, I think."

"We got all the lights untangled. Want to help put it on the tree?"

"Why not? This I know I can do."

They took turns handing off the string of lights until they got to the bottom. Clark got the needles and threads as they waited for Lana to bring the popcorn.

She came back successful. They each got a needle and thread and began to string the yellow-white popcorn. It made Lois' stomach growl. She'd only had coffee for breakfast. When Lana and Clark weren't looking, she'd stuff one in her mouth and let it melt there.

Kara came bounding down the stairs during the popcorn stringing. "What on earth are you all doing?"

"What does it look like?" Lois responded. "Stringing popcorn for the tree. They don't do that in Minnesota?"

"No, so let me get this straight. I get why Christmas is celebrated, for the birth of the Lord and savior and all that kind of stuff, but you chop down a tree to hang food on it that you will have to throw away in the name of decorating. What in the world does it have to with anything?"

"The evergreen of the pine tree symbolizes eternal life," Clark explained, "and it's sort of triangular, meaning it has 3 points, representing the trinity. The decorating makes it look pretty, and you can put more religiously themed objects on it."

"How does he know all this stuff about Christmas?" Lois asked Lana.

Lana just shrugged.

"Whatever," Kara said. "As much as I'd like to observe your strange traditions, I have to find Jimmy a Christmas present. That's a part of the holiday I understand. Do you guys have any suggestions?"

"He likes cameras," Clark offered weakly.

"Brilliant," Kara said sarcastically. "Catch you guys later. I have to work at the Talon today too, so I probably won't be home until tonight."

"I pity her," Lois said after she left. "Working there this time of year is brutal. I guess people need more caffeine to get them through the holidays."

Lana agreed.

They finished the stringing. Lois cursed a few times during the process, as she kept pricking her finger with the needle. To which Clark warned her it wasn't very appropriate for Christmas, and she would reply neither is bleeding. After putting the garland on the tree, they moved to ornaments. There were a lot of ornaments, too many to put on the tree all in the same year. They had to choose the ones they liked. Clark and Lois bickered the entire time. 'Not that one, Smallville. It looks tacky,' or 'Lois, you put the ornaments too close together.'

Lana got tired of hearing it. "I'm going to go start lunch. It's getting close."

Lana walked away mumbling under her breath. They were so wrapped up in their arguing and decorating, they barely acknowledged her.

"Aww, how cute," Lois said, holding up an ornament. "Baby's first Christmas. 1989? Have you been lying about your age?"

"No," he said, snatching it away. "It was my first Christmas with my parents."

"Oh, right." She held up another ornament, a sloppily crafted toy solider. "Aww, did Clarkie make this?"

"In boy scouts," he said, snatching it away too.

She laughed as he hung them on the tree. Clark picked up the tiny box with the name ornaments in it. He hung up Martha, Jonathan, Clark, Kara, Lana, Lois.

"Lois? Why do you still hang up the ornament with my name on it? I only lived here during one Christmas."

He smiled at her. "Mom insists. You should know by now you'll always be a part of the family."

Lois dug through the ornament can, checking to see if they all had hooks or strings to distract herself from the sweet sentiment. It made her feel awkward even if she appreciated and reciprocated the warm feelings of family.

"Hey, Lois. Look at this. You won't believe it." She could hear the smile in his voice. "2 turtle doves," he said, dangling the ornaments on his finger.

She rolled her eyes in response.

"They stand for the old and new testament in the song." He started to hang them on the tree but stopped. "I've got an idea, since there are 2 of them, why don't you hang one on the tree at your apartment?"

"Why not?"

He put it in her hand and she stuffed it in her pocket. They finished hanging the ornaments, and it was time to put the star on top.

"Would you like the honors?" he asked.

"I guess," she said, but the tree was so big, it was just a little out of her reach. She looked around for something to step up on but didn't see anything. "Here you do it," she said, putting it out for him to take.

"No, I can lift you up."

"You're just a little taller than me. You cannot li—"

He grabbed her waist and had her lifted off the ground like she was a feather. She put the star on top of the tree. She always forgot how strong he was, probably from all those years of working on a farm. It wasn't the first time he lifted her, she thought, thinking back to the time at the hospital.

"Lunch is read—" Lana said, stopping when she saw Clark lifting Lois. He quickly set her down, and both Clark and Lois looked a little embarrassed. They sometimes forgot protocol for space and touching when it came to each other. They forgot their weird relationship could easily be misconstrued in the eyes of someone else.

They kept silent and separated as they followed Lana into the kitchen, but they soon forgot about it and were chattering and arguing again to Lana's dismay but not surprise.

"Can you believe it took all morning to decorate a stupid tree?" Lois asked.

"Good things take time," Clark said.

After hamburgers, Lana brought out freshly baked sugar cookies.

Lois took a bite. "Wow, the hamburgers were good, but the cookies are amazing. They taste just like—"

"Mrs. Kent's?" Lana finished for her. "They are. She shared the secret family recipe with me." She said it smugly like she was daring Lois to try and deny it.

"She shared it with me too, but it's still a secret to me. How many times did she try to teach it to me?" she asked Clark.

"Too many to count. She worked with you weeks and weeks before giving up. You're just not teachable when it comes to cooking."

Lana looked a little hurt. "But Mrs. Kent said it only gets shared with daughters or daughter-in-laws."

"It does," Clark said, "but my mom thinks of Lois as a daughter."

Lana looked distressed.

"Because she lived with us and everything." Clark added.

"Yeah, I got curfews and lectures, the whole 9 yards," Lois said.

Lana still didn't look pleased.

They spent a couple hours in the house, hanging wreaths, putting candles in the window, setting up the Christmas village, etc. before they moved to the outside. Clark took hanging the lights, Lana was in charge of holding the ladder, and Lois handled yard decorations.

Lois put up the light-up Santa sleigh and waving snowman near the road before going back up toward the house. Lana was leaning against the porch with folded arms and looking tired.

"Lana," Lois cried, "you're supposed to be holding the ladder! If Clark falls, he's going to get seriously injured."

Clark looked down pleasantly surprised that Lois was so concerned about his safety, even if it was unnecessary. Lana gave an irritated sigh and grabbed the ladder.

"You're done already?" Clark asked.

"No, I still have to put up the nativity scene. I just got an inspired idea."

"An inspired idea about the nativity scene?" Clark asked. "Is this going to be sacrilegious?"

"No, in fact, it'll be just the opposite. It'll be extremely religious. We can take Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus and put them in the barn."

"Who would see them in there?" Clark asked.

"The animals, of course. You'll have real live animals as part of your nativity. Then we could have the shepherds about to go in and the wise men way down at the end of the driveway, since they didn't make an appearance for another 2 years. It's perfect."

"Are you serious?" Lana asked

"I'm just trying to liven up the same old decorations. I'm getting really bored."

"We're almost done," Clark said.

"That's what you said 5 hours ago."

"And think how true that is now."

It took about another hour and they were done. They turned on the lights and admired their handiwork. Then Clark offered to walk Lois to her car. Lana went back inside to go lay down. She swore she had a headache, but Clark and Lois didn't know why.

"So do you feel like you wasted an entire day or are you rearing to write about your great experience?" Clark asked her, as they stood in front of her car door.

"I feel like it was a waste, but the day wasn't a total loss. I got a turtledove," she said, twirling it around her finger with a chuckle.


	3. 3 French Hens

_On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

Lois went to the Kent farm that morning for the third day in a row. She was beginning to feel like she lived here again. She didn't have to knock. Clark opened it before she got a chance.

"Ready for another fun-filled day?" he asked her with a smile.

"Yeah," she said unenthusiastically. "What are we doing today? I've already forgotten."

"Today is food day. We're going to the grocery store to buy all the food we'll need for Christmas."

"Isn't it a little early for that?"

"Mom's plane comes in this evening. I can't still believe she gets 2 whole weeks off. She's going to want to start baking right away. You know Mom. It isn't a holiday for her without baking, and if you wait too long, the good food will be picked over. You have to think how many people are eating close to the same thing on that day."

"I guess that's true."

"Yep, and when we get home, we're going to do the gingerbread house before it's time to pick up Mom."

"Well, then we'd better get a move on. Is Lana coming?"

Clark frowned. "No, she said she doesn't want to be seen in public with us."

"Why? We're not that bad, are we?"

"I don't think so."

"You know Chloe won't go out with us when we're together either."

"I guess that's their choice. Ready to hit the road? We might as well ride together."

They went to the nearest grocery store, and Clark pushed the buggy.

"We usually have green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, but since Mom missed it this year, maybe we should have it for Christmas," he said, holding up a can of green beans.

"If you want it," she said with a wave of her hand. "You'll be the one eating it. It's got nothing to do with me."

"What do you mean it's got nothing to do with you? You're going to be eating Christmas dinner with us."

"I didn't last year," she reminded him.

"Last year was different."

"Okay, but what about Lana. She-"

"It's Mom's house and she wants you there and Chloe, of course."

Lois smiled. "Well, this puts a new spin on the shopping trip."

"I was wondering why you weren't arguing about what we were going to eat."

Lois picked up another can of green beans and then led the way to the baking aisle. "Your mom has to make fudge," she said, throwing a box of cocoa into the buggy. "Oh, and chocolate-flavored sugar cookies," she said, throwing in another box. "Oh, and she makes the best homemade hot chocolate," bringing the total boxes of cocoa up to 3. "Oh , and chocolate cake," she said, reaching for another box.

"Lois, I think 3 boxes are more than enough. Let's move onto non-desserts before you become a diabetic," he said, moving the buggy away from the sugary products and to the meat.

"So I suppose, we need a turkey," she said, picking one up. "Oh, and I prefer a honey-glazed ham myself. That should be enough, right?"

"Yeah, it should be. We'll have plenty of sides." he picked up three little hens and put it in the buggy.

"What's that?" she asked.

"3 French hens," he said with a grin. "By the way, in the song they stand for faith, hope, and love, the 3 spiritual gifts."

"Those are not 3 French hens, they're 3 Cornish hens."

"3 European hens, that's close enough. They're for Kara. She doesn't like turkey or ham."

"And she's going to eat 3 of them?"

"She can do it, believe me. She's got a big appetite." He paused for a second and then got out 3 more.

"That's 6 French hens," she said with a smirk.

"It made me hungry thinking about them, so I got some for lunch, one for you, one for me, and one for Lana. She can fix them for us while we work on the gingerbread house, unless she wants to work on it too."

"I wouldn't mind one for lunch. Can I ask you a question, and don't get mad, but is that one of the reasons you love Lana so much? Because she can cook and do all that homemaking stuff?"

He laughed. "That would be a mom or a housekeeper, not a girlfriend. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I'm just curious, I guess. What is it about her that you love?"

"I've always loved her."

"That's not what I asked. I mean does she make you laugh? Do you like that she's smart? What do you love about her?"

Clark thought about it in silence as he pushed the buggy along. "I first saw her when I was a just a little kid and I remember thinking, 'There's the most beautiful little girl in the world. She looks like an angel.' "

"But she's not an angel, and she's not a little girl anymore."

"I know," he said. There was an unspoken understanding between them. Lana had told him that once herself. He was in love with a fantasy, an ideal. He knew their love needed to become more real, more adult. He needed to find things to like about her. He could point things out he liked and admired in Chloe like her listening skills and her advice. He could point out things he liked in Pete like his joviality and outgoing nature. He also knew what he liked about Lois, her ability to make him smile, her brilliancy, her loyalty, a lot of things. So if he knew what he liked about his friends, he should know what he liked about his girlfriend. When he came back to the real world, he found the buggy was full and they were heading to the checkout. "That was fast." he remarked.

"Because you were daydreaming," she replied.

They started, taking the things out of the buggy. "How much do you think all this is going to come to, Smallville?" Lois asked.

"I don't know. Over a 100 for sure and probably closer to 200."

"I'm going to help pay," she announced.

"No, you're not."

"Why not? It's going to feed my face too."

"Because even though I am just a poor farm boy, I can afford groceries. Plus, Mom sends money home, and Kara works."

"I don't want to be a burden. I want to help pay for this. Quit holding on to your cavemen ideals and let me help!" she said, raising her voice in frustration.

"You're not a burden. I'm paying for the groceries, and that's final!"

Lois was about to say something else, but an elderly couple behind them chuckled.

"We used to fight like that when we were first married," the lady said. "Remember, Delbert?"

"I remember, Gracie," he laughed.

"We're not—" Clark and Lois tried to say.

The elderly man held out a hand. "Really, kids. There's no need to explain. We understand."

"Sir?" said the cashier, who had finished ringing and bagging the groceries. Clark gave the man his credit card, and they went out to the parking lot.

"Don't think I didn't notice you paid for the groceries," Lois said. "Just wait until you get your Christmas present. It's going to be extravagant."

"Why does that always happen to us?" he asked, barely hearing her.

"We like to argue I guess."

"No, I mean why are we always getting mistaken for a couple?"

"Because people automatically assume when they see a man and woman around the same age out together that they're a couple. It didn't help that we were squabbling over money matters."

"Yeah, you're right," he said, visibly relieved.

"We're getting ready to have another of those squabbles. I want the key to your truck. We'll get back faster."

"I think getting back alive and not hitting anything is more preferable."

"How many times have I hit—wait, don't answer that. How many times have I killed anyone with my driving?"

Clark rolled his eyes as he put the heavy bags in the truck bed, but he gave her the key.

They got back to the house just a little before lunch. They put away all the perishables and then took the gingerbread house kit into the living room, while Lana worked on the hens. Clark pulled out the supplies: the gingerbread, the icing, and the candy.

"Did you see that Nativity gingerbread house at the store?" Lois asked.

"Yeah, but I'd feel a little weird eating Baby Jesus. It'd feel like I'd committed a sin or something."

Lois laughed. "I don't think it'd be a sin. I haven't been to church since I was living here, but there's communion, isn't there?"

"It's just weird, I prefer regular gingerbread people to holy ones," he said, waving the 2 cookies.

They constructed it fairly quickly. Lois popped a couple of gumdrops, and Clark complained that they wouldn't have enough to complete the house if she didn't stop but they did, and it looked pretty good.

"Here," he said, handing her the icing, "go to town."

She leaned her back and took the tube, squeezing the rest of the sweet mixture into her mouth.

Clark watched her in fascination. "You have a disgustingly sick sweet tooth. I've never seen anyone who could eat like you do and stay so—"

"In shape?" Lana finished for him with her arms folded dangerously. "I came to say lunch is ready. And Lois, dear, here's some advice from one woman to another. If you want to keep your figure, you really should think about eating healthier."

Lois stood up. "Thank you for your concern, Lana, but I made a decision along time ago that I want to eat however I want, and I make up for it by rigorous exercise."

Lana just smiled in reply, and they all went to the kitchen for lunch.

Clark looked at his watch when they were done eating. "It's time to go pick up Mom from the airport. You want to come along, Lois?"

"Sure," Lois said with a smile. "I'd like to see Mrs. Kent."

"I'm coming along too," Lana said, struggling to put her coat on in anger.

"I assumed you would," Clark smiled at her, helping her into her coat.

He went to help Lois as a thoughtful gesture, but she already had her coat on and was tapping her foot impatiently. "Let's go now."

Clark shook his head as he shut the door behind them. Lois and Lana were so different, it was amazing. He didn't know what he was thinking; Lois would never let him help her with her coat.

All 3 smiled when they saw the red-haired matriarch coming toward them, except Lana's smile seemed more forced. Martha hugged Clark first and said, "I love you, and I've missed you."

His smile grew wider, "I love you too, and I've missed you, Mom."

Then she turned to Lois and hugged her. "Hi, sweetie. It's such a pleasant surprise to see you here. I've missed you too."

Lois was blushing, and Clark was smiling at the rare occurrence. It took a lot to get her to blush. "I've missed you too, Mrs. Kent."

"I wish you would come be my chief of staff again. No one is half as good as you were, but I know you've got a job that you love now, Miss Ace Reporter, and I have to say you keep that up and you're on your way to a Pulitzer."

"I didn't know you read my stuff," Lois said, genuinely surprised.

"Of course I do. I have a subscription to the Planet. I never miss one of your stories. They're all so good, and I'm excited about this 12 days of Christmas column. I get to be in it. I'll be famous."

"You are famous, Mrs. Kent. You're a United States senator and if you keep this up, you're going to give me a big head."

"You deserve a big head." She moved to Lana. "I see that things are still going well with you and Clark. That's good, and it's nice to see you again." She went to hug Lana and Lana hugged her back, but it was very awkward and came out of a sense of duty more than anything else. "Well, let's get home. Boy, does that feel nice to say."

"Yep," Clark said, taking his mom's suitcases, "and we have it all decorated for Christmas."

"So I read," she laughed.

Clark was on one side of his mother and Lois was on the other and they were laughing and catching up like a close-knit family, Lana observed, as she hung back. She felt like an outsider. When Lois was around, it was like she didn't exist, and she had noticed that Clark's own mother went to Lois before her potential daughter-in-law. She wasn't going to be treated like this forever. If she could just get through Christmas then-

Clark looked back, noticing her absence for the first time and motioned for her to follow. No, she wouldn't be doing this for much longer.


	4. 4 Calling Birds

_On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

Lois didn't have to report to the farm that morning, but she did have to go that evening as they were going caroling. Lois arrived at 5:00, and they warmly greeted her, well, Clark and Martha did anyway. Chloe and Jimmy were going caroling too, but they were meeting them in town.

"Mom has a surprise that I think you're going to like," Clark said, grinning.

Lois could tell from that grin that it wasn't something she was going to like, but before he could tell her what it was, Kara came tramping down the stairs in a Victorian style caroling dress, and she didn't look happy. The dress was dark red with a plaid cape.

Lois' mouth hung open. "Please, tell me I don't have to wear one of those."

Kara instantly brightened. "Yes! Someone to share my misery with."

"Mrs. Kent," Lois said, "I really can't. Kara looks nice, but she's got the kind of face structure where the bonnet frames her face well. I'd look terrible."

"You would not, and it'll be fun," Martha assured her. "I got costumes for everyone. You can change next. Clark and I will go after you."

Lois sighed. You just couldn't tell Mrs. Kent no, no matter how much you wanted to. Even Kara, who hadn't been participating in the Christmas rituals, was coming caroling and in a silly outfit. She bet Mrs. Kent could talk the General into wearing a dress if she wanted to. Lois knew she might as well resign herself to her fate. She turned to go up the stairs, and Lana came down the stairs elegantly in a green dress and matching cape and bonnet. She looked stunning like she's stepped out of a picture from the time period, and Lois could tell she not only knew it but was eating the situation up. Lana loved the dress and loved that she was going to outshine everyone else.

"This was such a good idea, Mrs. Kent," Lana crooned.

Lois glanced at Clark and saw that he too had his eyes on Lana. She didn't blame him in the least. What guy wasn't going to drool over her? What girl wasn't going to envy her? Still, she couldn't help feeling just the tiniest bit jealous and she admitted to herself that it was jealousy. However, she convinced herself he could have been any guy, and she would have felt that way. She also didn't have a boyfriend to spend Christmas with, so she was sure that was fueling her jealousy. She stomped up the stairs to find and put on the dress that she was being forced to wear.

Lois assumed the longer one was for her, instead of Mrs. Kent. She tried it on and it fit perfectly. Lois had no doubt it would. Mrs. Kent made it a point to know the clothes size of her friends and family for present purposes, and if she hazarded a guess, she was usually pretty accurate. Lois examined herself in the mirror. It was a red velvet dress lined in faux white fur. She couldn't help but think she looked like a young Mrs. Santa Claus. Although the color did bring out her eyes, she felt completely ridiculous. She wondered if Lana might be willing to trade with her, but even if they were close enough to the same size, which she seriously doubted, and she was willing, Lois knew after seeing Lana in it that she wouldn't do the dress justice. Whereas, Lana could pull off the new dress with just as much style as her old one. She tied her bonnet strings under her chin and then trudged down the stairs, much like Kara had a little earlier.

Clark, who had still been watching Lana, looked at her now with the same expression still plastered to his face. In fact, she could have sworn she even saw his eyes light up in a way that hadn't been there before. Was it possible that she looked just as nice as Lana did, maybe even better? Lana certainly thought that was what was being betrayed in his expression, as she cleared her throat as discreetly as possible, but Clark didn't tear his eyes away and a blush started to creep into his face as Lois came off the stairs.

"You look nice, Lois," he said sincerely.

"Thanks, Smallville," she said, punching his shoulder in a gesture of affection and as a reminder that she was still just 'one of the guys', so to speak. She was still positive Lana looked better, although some of it was a matter of preference. She knew that as far as colors went, Clark preferred red over green.

Clark and Martha went upstairs, each taking a bedroom. Lois laughed at Clark's top hat that included a sprig of hollies, and when he came within reach, she playfully knocked it off his head. Martha came down in a dress that set off her hair in a way that Lana's didn't, keeping her from being overshadowed by Lana's green dress. Martha carried the songbooks in her gloved hand.

She passed the songbooks out and said, "Let's get caroling, everyone."

Ben Hubbard was waiting to take them on a hayride with his tractor. Clark climbed on first and helped his mother and Lana up. Kara got up on her own. If Lois had been in pants, she could have easily got onto it. However, every time she started to step up, the skirt that covered the tops of her shoes got in the way. If she pulled up her shirt, she couldn't grab on without losing her balance. She was in a dilemma and wondered how in the world Kara had done it. Clark was patiently standing with a hand and a smile, ready to help her up when she realized it was the only way. At last, she sighed and took his hand, and he pulled her up.

"See," he said with a grin. "Women in the 1800s weren't helpless creatures, who couldn't get in a wagon on their own; their dresses just prevented them from doing it. You've learned something new."

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the prickly hay, which couldn't really be felt since it was so cold and they had heavy clothes on. Clark sat down too, sandwiched between Kara and Lois. The tractor started moving but never got past 10 miles per hour, and sometimes it was less than that.

"It should be illegal to move this slow," Lois muttered.

"It's a tractor and a small town. What do you expect?" Clark said. "Enjoy the scenery and country air."

"Yep, there's one of the pretty sights and smells of the country right there," she said, referring to a dead skunk on the side of the road.

"Why don't we start our singing?" Martha suggested. "It'll keep us warmer."

5 carols later they were in town and stopping in front of the Talon. Ben sounded the horn.

"I didn't know tractors had horns," Lois said, surprised.

"They have to if you're going to use them like a regular vehicle. Of course, you can't take it out on the highway."

"I figured that much," she replied.

Chloe and Jimmy came out in modern day winter clothes, Lois noticed enviously. She could tell they were trying not to laugh at their costumes. Kara got up and moved to the other side, and Jimmy sat with her, giving them a little privacy. Chloe came to their side.

She looked at Lois and Clark suspiciously. "Why aren't you sitting with your girlfriend?" Chloe asked.

Clark turned red with embarrassment and moved to the other end with Lana, and Chloe took his seat.

"Is something going on?" she whispered to Lois.

"Of course not. Lana just got on first and then Clark's mom and Kara, and he just sat down at the first convenient spot."

"Which was beside you?" Chloe asked.

"It's Clark we're talking about, the one who is madly in love with Lana Lang."

"People who are madly in love notice when they're not sitting beside their girlfriends, no matter how dense they are."

"Chloe," Lois whispered harshly.

"Okay," Chloe said with a laugh, "switching gears. So what do you want to talk about?"

"How was the ride over with Jimmy?" Lois asked.

"Fine. It's like I've told you before, we're still friends, and I have no problem that he's dating Kara now."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. In fact, I just got asked out by this cute guy at work. We're going out after Christmas."

"Do I know him?" Lois smiled.

"David from the second floor," she whispered like a shy schoolgirl.

"He's really good-looking, and he seems like a nice guy," Lois said encouragingly.

"I know. So what about you? You haven't dated anyone in a while. Met a cute guy lately?"

"Not lately."

The tractor finally began moving again. It took it awhile to start it up sometimes.

"It's time to start singing," Martha announced.

They caroled for about 2 hours until they got tired of being cold. If someone wanted to stop and listen or come out of their houses, the tractor stopped. One time they sang the Twelve Days of Christmas, and Clark and Lois stole secret glances at each other, barely containing their laughter. They went back to the Kent farm. Clark had 7 steaming cups of gingerbread-flavored coffee from the Talon, and Lois and Jimmy couldn't figure when he'd snuck off and got them. They figured he must have gotten them beforehand and kept it warm somehow when they were out caroling.

He brought Lois' in a fancy mug. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion, "What's this?"

He smiled and pointed at the picture. It was of 4 birds singing against a Christmassy background.

She smiled. "This one wasn't a coincidence. Are you trying to make it match every single day?"

"I figured why break our streak. It was for sale at the Talon, and I thought I'd get it for you. It means the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in case you wanted to know."

"Thank you. That was sweet."

The others had no idea what they were talking about but knew they had some kind of private joke going on between them, and Lana was annoyed that Clark had brought something special for Lois for no reason at all.

"I think Lois should be getting home," Lana said. "Doesn't she have to get up early for tomorrow's event?"

"I really should be going," Lois said. "Come on, Chloe and Jimmy. You two have to work tomorrow too, and I'm driving you back. Thanks for the coffee and mug, Smallville."

Clark hung at the door, as he watched them head for the car. "Be careful driving, Lois. I hear the roads may get slippery tonight."

After he shut the door and turned back around, Lana let out a cry of disgust. "You're impossible, you know that?" and she stormed upstairs.

Clark was bewildered. He looked at his mom and Kara. "What'd I do?"

Kara and Martha just shook their heads at him like he should know, but he honestly didn't. He went to bed feeling confused but looking forward to another day with Lois.


	5. 5 Golden Rings

_On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

Clark met Lois out in the driveway that morning even before she shut her engine off, and he got in on the passenger side. "Hurry up and drive."

"Clark Kent, are you sneaking off without permission?" Lois asked.

"No, they'll know where I've gone. Everyone's still asleep. I figured the less people with us, the more Christmas shopping we get done today. Now drive."

"There's more to it than that. I know Lana has that can't-be-seen-with-us-in-public rule but—"

"She was a little mad at me last night, and I want to buy her a really great present. I think if she finds out I'm still going out like nothing happened, it'll only make her angrier."

"So what exactly did you do?"

"I have no idea."

Lois rolled her eyes and pulled out of the driveway.

They went to a department store about half an hour away from Smallville to do their shopping. Clark put some change in the Salvation Army pot and then pulled out a list. "Where's your list?" he asked.

"What list? I'm not Santa Claus."

"The list of people you have to buy presents for, so you don't forget someone."

"In my head I guess. You are too compulsive and organized for your own good."

"It's a good system. We can share it. We're pretty much buying for the same people."

"That's true," Lois said, snatching it away. "Hey, I'm on the list. I do need to buy myself a Christmas present. Something really nice. So what are you getting me, Smallville?"

"None of your business until Christmas," he said, taking the list back. "We can start with Mom."

"Take my advice and buy something for your girlfriend first. Your mom will love her present even if it's just some homemade crap. You want to put a lot of consideration and money into your gift for Lana if you want to make up with her."

"You're probably right. I guess a fancy bottle of perfume?"

"Perfume? You want it to say I know you well."

"She wears perfume."

"Yeah, and she wears deodorant too, but I wouldn't recommend getting her that for Christmas. Everyone buys perfume for their girlfriends or wives. Think deeper."

"Uh, jewelry?"

"You're hopeless. You're lucky I came along to help. What were you saying the other day?" Lois struggled to remember. "Horses. Didn't you say she likes horses?"

"You want me to buy her a horse? We don't have room for another—"

"Not a horse, just horse-themed. Let's walk around, and see what they have."

They looked for about 10 minutes.

"Aha!" Lois cried, suddenly stopping.

Clark had to grab her and move her over few inches to save her from being elbowed by a pushy older lady. People got extra aggressive when they shopped this time of year, as it got more crowded. He'd also saved the older lady because Lois wouldn't have hesitated to dish it back. Lois dragged him over to the coat section and held up a woolen coat with running horses and earthy tones.

"Well?" she said, after he looked it over.

"It's pretty I guess," he looked at the price tag, "but not that pretty."

Lois looked at it. "A hundred and fifty? Okay, that's a complete rip-off, but it's the perfect present for her. What happened to the 'I'm not a poor farm boy' speech?"

"I lied, but maybe you're right. It is Christmas."

"That's the spirit," she said, slapping his shoulder and putting it in the buggy.

"So what are you getting Lana?"

"Me? She's not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, but you'll be spending Christmas with us. You have to get her one."

Lois sighed and grabbed a gift package of lavender soap when they went to the gift package section.

"I can tell you put so much thought into that," Clark teased.

"Hey, I helped you, didn't I? Who's next on the list?"

"Chloe."

3 hours later, they had finished their shopping and were about to go through the automatic doors that lead outside.

"Wait a minute," Clark said.

"What is it? I'm all shopped out."

He led her over to the bubblegum machines. "Golden rings."

"You're going to do this until we get through all 12 days, aren't you?"

"It's fun," he said, pulling change out to put in the machine. "Besides, you should get something for helping me with Lana. You even got me to buy her candy and flowers for today, after spending a hundred and fifty on her Christmas present. I owe you one."

She looked around to see if anyone noticed they were buying things from the machine. Clark was turning the crank, but no one paid any attention. He handed her the bauble, and she opened it and stuck the plastic golden ring on her pinky, the only finger it fit on. He put in 2 more quarters.

"You're not seriously going to spend 2.50 on these little, plastic rings, are you?"

He handed her another bauble as an answer. He didn't stop until he'd gotten her 5 of them. "In the song they're the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible."

"Thanks," she said. "I look strange, and I can't bend my left pinky because it has 3 rings sitting on it, but this is sweet. It also may be the only time a man ever buys me a ring."

"That's not true, Lois. One day a really great guy is going to ask you to marry him, and he'll be the lucky one."

"Yeah, yeah."

Lois dropped Clark off and his bags, but she didn't drive away immediately. She watched through the window as Clark gave Lana the candy and flowers. Lana had been looking miffed, but her face changed to one of surprise and then she got ecstatic and threw her arms around Clark. She showed her appreciation by rewarding him with a long, passionate kiss, and Lois got a strange aching in her chest, She felt her eyes sting a little. "Buck up, Lane," she told herself. "You're the one who made it happen, and he's just a friend." She quickly backed out of the drive. She sniffed to keep the tears from falling. There was no reason in the world for her to feel jealous or hurt, but she did. "Oh, face it already," she said, talking to herself again. "You're in love with the guy, but he's not in love with you." She didn't know how she was going to make it through tomorrow with him, much less 7 more days with her newfound discovery.


	6. 6 Geese A Laying

_On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

Lois stood in front of the door, dreading to go in. She knew there was no getting away from it, so she took a deep breath and started to knock.

"Come in," Clark called.

Someday she had to ask how he did that. Her fist hadn't even touched the wood. She opened the door and went in. He was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. He patted the floor, indicating for her to sit beside him, and she swallowed hard. She didn't know if she could sit that closely to him.

He looked up at her when she didn't come over and smiled and as cliché as it sounded, she felt weak in the knees. She wondered why he had to be so darn cute and have such a genuine and beautiful smile. She had spent all those years burying her feelings, and now it was all for nothing. She had tried to convince herself and him that she couldn't be attracted to a plaid-wearing farm boy, but she was and worse than that she was in love with him. The feelings were very much a part of her conscious now, and they could never be true friends again.

"Come on, Lois. I promise I took a shower this morning," he said, patting the spot beside him again.

Saying shower didn't help his cause, but she sat down, making sure to leave at least a foot between them. However after giving her a funny look, he turned that foot into a couple of inches and she took a sharp intake of breath when she felt the warmth radiating from him, so close and yet not. She had no idea how she could have ignored this for so long.

"Stick out your tongue," he said.

"E-excuse me?" she stuttered, wondering what in the world he could want with her tongue. She hated that she stuttered. He was going to wonder why the normally confident Lois Lane wasn't. She had always been in control with all of her other romances. She played a game of cat and mouse with the others and sometimes at the end of the game, she got hurt, but she never got nervous, and she always got over it.

"Stick out your tongue," he repeated.

She did, and he took a stamp across it. She wiped her tongue across her hand in an attempt to get the taste off. "Yuck! What the heck did you do that for?"

"My tongue was all licked out," he said, pointing to the tons of envelopes scattered on the coffee table. "What did you think I wanted your tongue for?"

"I don't know," she replied. She hadn't noticed all the Christmas cards.

"Well, I'm afraid today's going to be kind of dull. I got all the Christmas cards ready to send out, but I still have to send out the invitations for the Christmas Eve party. You can help me with that. I'm going to need your tongue."

"Why don't you just get a glass of water and use your finger to dab it on?"

"That's a good idea," he said, getting up to get it.

Lois gave a sigh of relief. She could breathe a little now. She needed to give him more errands to do. He came back quicker than she liked though and seemed to sit closer than before. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears; she hoped he didn't.

"After this, we're going to wrap presents. We can go by your place and wrap yours too."

"No!"

He gave her a strange look.

"I mean they're already wrapped."

That wasn't true. She'd only wrapped Chloe's because Chloe might accidentally stumble across it. She spent her night eating a tub of ice cream and watching sappy old romance movies in bed, hoping Chloe wouldn't hear her sobs. The last thing she wanted was to spend more time with Clark. She had to get a grasp on herself.

"Well, you can help me then. I know it's kind of a dull Christmas tradition to write about, but I also know you can spice it up."

She picked up the stack of ready to send out Christmas cards and went through them, mainly to distract herself from Clark. She pulled out one addressed to her.

"Are you sending me a Christmas card through the mail?"

"Yes."

"Why? It's a waste of a perfectly good stamp when you could just hand it to me."

"Because it's fun to get cards in the mail."

"I'm not going to wait until then. I might as well open it now," she said, tearing it open. The picture was of 6 geese snuggling together. The card said, 'Hope your Christmas is warm and bright and surrounded by loved ones.' Clark, Martha, and Kara had signed their names to it. She didn't know why Lana hadn't and didn't really care. Clark had also written '6 geese a-laying stands for the 6 days of creation.'

"I thought it was 7 days," she said.

"God rested on the 7th."

She smiled. "Thanks for the card."

"No problem," he smiled back. "I guess this means you want your invitation too?"

She rolled her eye and took it.

When they were done, Clark took them out to the mailbox, which could barely hold all the cards and invitations.

"You've just made the mailman's day," Lois shouted sarcastically, as she waited for him to walk back on the porch.

"We're going into the loft," he told her.

"Why?"

"Because that's where the presents are," he said. "We'll wrap them in there too. Kara and Mom went out, but Lana's still in the house sleeping. I don't want her to see her present before we get it wrapped."

"Isn't it cold in there?"

"We won't be in there long, and I put a space heater in it."

She followed him into the barn. He shut the barn doors behind them, and she shivered. She felt trapped and very alone with him, not that it was altogether a bad feeling. She felt a lot warmer than she thought she would be. She watched him bend over and dig through the hay. She was still holding onto her card and invitation and had to fan herself with them. He handed her the bag with Lana's coat, and it reminded her that she couldn't be having these thoughts. He belonged to Lana. She had to get her mind off of things. "So, this is where you hide all the presents," she said with a laugh and slightly nervous twinge. "I should have known to check the hay."

"Don't get too excited," he told her, as he lead the way up the stairs, "because I didn't hide your present there."

"What do you do if you and Lana want to take a roll in the hay?" she regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Her face flushed with humiliation and her words had come out as biting and jealous rather than playful.

Clark, however, was so embarrassed and surprised, he didn't seem to notice it, but he didn't look at her as he answered, "We don't."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. He handed her a roll of wrapping paper, scissors, and tape. They got down to business. She wrapped the fancy, new appointment book and pen, he'd gotten for his mom, while he worked on Lana's. After she wrapped it, she surveyed her work. It didn't look professional, but it didn't look terrible. She envied her dad's wrapping skills. It was perfect, each taped down corner exactly the same. You could have taken a ruler to it, and it wouldn't have been a millimeter off. She took a glance at Clark's work and laughed. It looked like a 2 year old had wrapped it. The paper was crumpled, and it had been taped down in random places.

She brought it over to herself. "Let me fix it."

"Thanks," he mumbled.

The paper was still crumpled when she got done, but it was neatly taped down. "Here you go."

He got out Chloe's present, a gift package of coffee mugs and assorted coffee.

"Here," she said. "You gave me a lesson on untangling lights. I'll give you one on wrapping."

She explained the mechanics of wrapping, and she started off confidently and playfully. She was proud. Maybe she could handle being around Clark after all, as long as she didn't think about him and concentrated on things like wrapping. However, she began to notice that his eyes were focused on her, and why wouldn't they be? She was explaining how to wrap, but she got very uneasy. She turned her head ready to tell him she had to go, but she got a glimpse of his baby blue eyes and felt paralyzed, she couldn't move or speak. It could have been her imagination, but it seemed like he was under the same spell and they were slowly moving closer and closer until they were just about to ki—

"What's going on?" came the sound of Lana's voice. Lana had opened the barn door and caught them, before she could figure out if it had been her imagination.

"Just wrapping presents," Clark said, standing up nervously. He helped Lois to her feet.

Lana didn't look like she altogether believed that, so Clark held up the proof, "See, this is your Christmas present."

Lana came up the stairs and took it from him. She shook it to try and find out what it was but Clark had put it in a box to prevent her from doing just that.

"I have to go," Lois said, exiting as fast as she could go without it looking suspicious.

"Tomorrow?" Clark asked.

"Tomorrow," Lois agreed, although she knew she should have ended this 12 day Christmas thing with Clark right then and just made stuff up.

"Just six more days," she whispered to herself as she got in the car.


	7. 7 Swans A Swimming

_On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

Lois didn't have to go to the Kent farm today. She was meeting Clark at the Metropolis Playhouse along with Lana and Martha. They were going to see The Nutcracker. In the lobby, Clark brought the tickets and then passed them out to everybody.

"Mom, Lana, why don't you go save our seats, and Lois and I will get the snacks," Clark said.

Lana looked like she was about to protest, but Martha took her gently by the arm and led her out, "Come on, dear."

As soon as they were gone, Clark said, "We need to talk privately."

"I was afraid of that," Lois groaned as he took her to a deserted corner.

"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time.

"You're sorry?" she asked, puzzled. "For what?"

"For the almost kiss yesterday. I was completely out of line and it was all my fault."

"All your fault?" she smirked. "How do you figure that?"

"Well, I—I—don't get angry but I—"

Lois wasn't sure what he was about to say but as it didn't feel like it was going to help her get over her feelings for him and he hadn't broken up with Lana, she didn't want to hear it. "Clark, let's just agree that it was both our faults. We must have been thinking about other people."

He nodded and his face turned a little red. "This isn't going to stop us from being friends, is it?"

Here was her way out. She could pretend that she was upset at him for almost kissing her and end it all right now, but he looked so worried, she couldn't bear to crush him. She knew a part of the reason was selfishness on her part; she couldn't bear to be without him either. "Of course not. Who else can I get to fix the things that break in my apartment, which reminds me, my toaster isn't working."

He grinned. "I'll take a look at it as soon as I get a chance." He started to hug her and then realized how awkward that would be at the moment and stopped. Lois gave a sigh of relief. She couldn't have withstood a hug from Clark right now.

They could hear the music starting.

"We should go take our seats," he said.

They found the tops of Lana and Martha's heads in the sea of people. Lana and Martha had each saved a seat with their coats. Clark took the one beside Lana and Lois took the one beside Martha, putting them on the far ends from each other.

"Where are the snacks?" Lana whispered suspiciously.

"They don't have any until intermission," Clark whispered back. "I forgot."

"You've been coming here to see The Nutcracker with your parents since you were 3 years old and you forgot?" Lana said, barely qualifying as a whispering tone.

"Hey," whispered a woman behind them. "I paid 20 bucks for my ticket. I better be able to hear this thing."

Lana stopped talking, but you could almost hear her angry silence. All during the first act when they thought the other wasn't looking, Clark and Lois tried to steal a glance. Lana noticed, and her angry silence seemed to get louder. Martha noticed too and couldn't keep the smile off her face, although she tried to pretend it was from the Nutcracker. Intermission came too fast, but Lana didn't yell or say anything about it.

"I'll go get the snacks," Clark said.

"I'll come with you," Lana said, following.

Lois started talking first. "I'm not a big fan of ballet to begin with, except for the men leaping around in tights part, but I never got the nutcracker. I mean granted I've only ever seen the Disney version and that was when I was 8 but this guy comes with a bunch of toys, they become real and defend the little girl from a bunch of mice, and the nutcracker turns out to be a prince. Am I missing something here? I hope the second act makes more sense."

Martha smiled. "He likes you."

"The Nutcracker?" Lois asked.

"And I know you like him too."

Lois sighed. There was no playing dumb with Martha. She could see right through her. "It doesn't matter, and I'm not admitting you're right, but he has a girlfriend."

"So did Jonathan, Lana's aunt as a matter of fact. She was one of those pesky high school girlfriends."

Lois looked at Martha in shock.

"Don't get me wrong," Martha laughed. "I think Lana could grow into a fine, young woman. I like her, and I've known her a long time. I just don't think she's right for my son. I've seen the way you and Clark look at each other and carry on. I've known for a long time there was something deeper and more permanent between you two, and I think you two are just beginning to admit that to yourselves."

"I think you're wrong about Clark's feelings, but even if you're not, I'm not about to make the first move," Lois said stubbornly. "Clark seems perfectly happy with Lana to me, and I'm not going to be the reason they break up."

"They may be breaking up sooner than you think."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Lana and Clark came back with pop and a bag of nuts for everybody. Lois barely watched the second act because she was thinking about what Martha had said. All she knew is a bunch of crazy costumed people danced and danced and danced. Martha had to get her attention after the curtains had closed. She hadn't even noticed.

Out in the lobby, Clark wanted to go into the gift shop, but it was so crowded in there, the others decided to just wait on him. Clark came out with a bag. He gave Lana and his mom peppermint sticks. He gave Lois a Swan Princess book. On the cover were 7 swimming swans. Lois smiled. He never failed. She thought he had forgotten because of yesterday's distraction.

"They stand for the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and compassion," he told Lois with a smile. "Why don't I just drive home with you to fix your toaster?"

"It's getting late," Lana said. "And why doesn't she and Chloe just buy a new toaster? Instead of getting you to fix their stuff all the time."

"Because they can't afford to buy new things right now," Clark told her.

"It's alright," Lois said. "Chloe and I can survive without a toaster a little while longer, and Chloe's got a new boyfriend. He can probably fix it for us."

"I'll come by in the morning," he said, as a way of compromising with Lana but still doing what he had said he would.

Lana was still ticked though, and it was obvious a fight was brewing. She dragged him out to the truck.

Martha lingered. "Clark would rather work for you than go home with his girlfriend. Soon," she smiled and then followed Clark and Lana.

Lois sighed. She wished she could believe it, but Clark leaving Lana for her had about as much a chance of happening as seeing Santa fly by, and she certainly didn't believe in Santa Claus.


	8. 8 Maids A Milking

_On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

"Where's Lois?" Clark asked when Chloe opened the door.

"She's still in bed," said the bleary-eyed Chloe. "Where I should be. I don't know how she slept through your knocking. What in the world are you doing here this time of day?"

"I came to fix your toaster."

She looked at him like he was crazy, and then she moved out of the way and headed back to bed.

He found the toaster in question and opened his tool box. He realized he probably was crazy. The truth of the matter was he was looking for any opportunity he could to get away from Lana. She'd been on his case lately, ever since he started seeing Lois everyday. Lois never got on his case. Well, that wasn't true. She did, but she came right out and said whatever it was she had to say. Lana danced around the issue, and it drove him crazy. To be fair he danced too but when you had 2 people dancing, nothing got solved.

Lois was a much easier person to hang around. Yesterday and the day before had been different however. It had been impossible to deny that he was attracted to her ever since the Green Arrow kiss and especially that fateful Valentine's Day. He thought about it more than he should, and it was lucky for him Lana couldn't read his mind and that he didn't mutter in his sleep. He had almost kissed Lois with her fully aware that it was him. Then yesterday he had almost told he was attracted to her. He had to get a grip. He had more control than that. Lana said he had too much control. Sometimes he wondered if Lois was dangerous enough to make him forget that control. She was in his dreams. His attraction for her was one-sided, he was sure of it. They were just really good friends. If Lois ever wanted to be more than friends then maybe…no. There was no used for him to think about that side of things because she didn't. That was unexplored, unnecessary territory for him to delve into.

He sighed, and his mind went back to Lana. He and Lana had never been friends, and he wondered if that was a mistake. They were either hot or cold, never that 'I like you as a person'. They loved each other before they knew or liked each other. He still hadn't been able to nail down what he liked about Lana. He wasn't ready to give up though. He had invested too much time in making the relationship between them work, and she had gone through a horrible ordeal with Lex. He didn't want to give her another horrible experience with love.

He chuckled when he figured out what was wrong with the toaster. They had somehow got a bobby pin down in it. He had a feeling it was probably Lois. He stuck in a bagel to test it out. Then he went downstairs to get coffee. When he came back, the bagel had popped back out and was toasted to perfection. He put it on a plate and spread cream cheese on it. Then he took it to Lois. He had to call Lois at least 10 times before she woke up, and when she finally opened her eyes, she looked at him like he was the living dead or something. She pulled the blankets up around her chin and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I fixed your toaster, and I brought you breakfast," he said, setting it on her nightstand. "I put 8 creamers in your coffee for 8 maids a milking. I didn't know what else I could use."

"I can tell you did," she said, after taking a sip of her coffee.

"They stand for the 8 beatitudes."

"Beatitudes?"

"You know blessed are they that mourn, the poor in spirit, the meek, those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake."

"You're weird. Do you know that? Would you go wait in the living room while I get dressed?"

She came out a few minutes later with a bagel stuffed in her mouth and a coffee in her hand. "So you never told me what we're doing today."

"That's because I didn't want you to find a way to back out of it."

"Oh, great. What is it?"

"We're going to the hospital to visit with the kids."

"Oh, that's not so bad," Lois said, dusting the bagel crumbs off her hands.

"And you're going as an elf."

"You're out of your freaking mind if you think I'm going to dress up like an elf!"

"Come on, Lois. It's for the kids. Christmas is a time for giving."

"And what are you going to dress up as?"

"Jolly, old St. Nick, of course, and Lana is going as Mrs. Claus. It's not like you'll be the only one dressed up."

"But I'll be the only elf." Clark looked at her pleadingly. "Fine, but don't ever say I don't have any Christmas spirit."

She took her last drink of coffee and threw it in the trash.

"Your costume is at the house. Come on let's go get it, Chuckles," he said with a grin, as he shut the door.

She opened it back up and yelled at his retreating form, "My name is not going to be Chuckles!"

They arrived a little later at the Kent farm. Martha was working at the Talon today to give Kara a break. Kara was flipping through a magazine on the couch.

"Is Lana ready to go yet?" Clark asked. "She said she was going to be ready."

Kara looked like she was struggling not to laugh. "No, she ran into a problem with the costume."

"What kind of problem?" Clark asked.

"It's a little small on her," she answered, a snicker escaping her lips.

"I heard that!" Lana yelled from the other room. "There's no way I'm going to be able to wear this."

"It can't be that bad," Clark said. "Let's see."

Lana came out, and Clark turned his head in embarrassment. Kara let out a peal of laughter, and Lois couldn't help but laugh too.

"I asked the costume shop if they had a Mrs. Claus outfit, and they said they did. This isn't what I had in mind," Lana said angrily.

Lana had the curly gray wig with a hat attached and spectacles, but that's where the similarities to the traditional Mrs. Claus ended. She wore a skimpy red leather dress with fur.

"That looks like a dress Mrs. Claus uses to welcome Santa home," Kara laughed.

"I don't think it's appropriate to greet kids in. I bet it'll make a few doctors happy though," Lois added.

Lana put her hands on her hips. "I know it's not appropriate! I can't help if the stupid costume shop thought I wanted it for a perverted use."

Clark who hadn't turned his head back said, "What about the caroling dresses? I don't think Mom's taken them back to the shop yet."

"That's brilliant," Lana said. "I'll go change into the caroling dress."

"Actually," Clark said. "I was thinking of Lois because of the red velvet and fur. With the wig and spectacles, it might as well be a Mrs. Santa dress."

"I can wear it," Lana insisted.

"It'd be too long on you, and we can't hem it because the dress isn't ours," he looked at Lois. "What do you say, Lois?"

"So what do I wear?" Lana asked.

"You can be the elf. The costume won't fit you, but you can go put on a Christmassy-looking outfit and wear the ears and hat."

Lana sulked back to the bedroom and when the door slammed, Clark let out a sigh of relief and turned his head back.

"So will you do it?" Clark asked Lois.

She gave a haphazard shrug. "I guess it's better than Chuckles the Elf."

"I think the caroling outfits are in Mom's room."

Lois went upstairs to find and put it on.

"So people made up this fat man that gives presents to the children and gets pointed-ear people to do all the work, right?" Kara asked. "Why?"

"Well, it dates back to a Christian monk from the 3rd century, who gave out presents in secret. A bunch of other stuff has been added to the legend of St. Nick, but it has real historical roots."

"And St. Nick flies?"

"Yep."

"And children really believe all this?"

"For a little while. It just adds to the Christmas fun."

Kara looked thoughtful.

Lana and Lois came down in their costumes, neither of them looking thrilled about the situation. Clark ran upstairs and changed quickly, and they were off to the hospital. Kara waited until they took off and then with a smile, left the house too.

At the hospital, the kids were eagerly waiting for them to arrive. A cheer went up when they entered the hospital playroom. The kids were either sitting in the floor or in wheelchairs. There were 2 chairs in the front. Clark sat down in one. Lana started to sit down in the other.

"Don't you think you should let Mrs. Claus sit down?" Clark gently reminded Lana.

Lana went to Clark's other side, so Lois could sit down, but she didn't look very happy. Lois had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when she heard one of the kids whisper, "She's a mean elf." Lois snuck a look at Lana. Her face was still unsmiling.

The kids took turns getting on Santa's lap, telling him what they wanted for Christmas. Lois listened for a little while but got tired of Lana's glares. The kids were more interested in Santa than her, so she went to take a seat in the back. A little girl around 6 climbed on her lap. "I like you."

Lois laughed, "Thanks. I like you too. Have you gotten to talk to Santa yet?"

She shook her head. "The elf scares me. If I tell you, will you tell Santa for me?"

"Sure. What do you want for Christmas?"

She took off her cap, "My hair."

Lois hugged her. "Oh, sweetheart, Santa can't give you your hair. It'll grow back on its own."

She sighed. "That's what Mommy told me, but I wanted to make sure."

"What's your second choice?"

"A doll I guess."

"Now that I'm sure Santa can handle."

"Tell him it's for Sarah Wells."

"I will," she assured her.

"Is it fun being married to Santa Claus?" Sarah asked.

She looked over at Clark. He was shaking his belly for the kids and looked like he was having a good time. Even Lana had loosened up. She was smiling, and she was resting her hand on Clark's shoulder. She whispered something in his ear and Santa's cheeks turned rosy. Lois couldn't help but feel jealous. She wished she was married to Clark or at least dating him. "It's nice."

Sarah looked over at them. "The elf's trying to steal your man, isn't she?"

Lois laughed. "Elves only date other elves."

"Are you sure? She's an awfully big elf."

"I'm sure."

Sarah was watching her closely, and Lois knew she had seen the wistfulness and disappointment on her face when she looked at Clark and Lana. The little girl took her by the hand and led her back over to the chair beside Clark. It was hard to see with a beard covering Clark's face, but it looked like he was smiling. His eyes were definitely twinkling. She sat down to make the little girl happy.

"I don't believe I've seen you yet, Sarah."

The little girl was surprised to find out he knew her name. "You really do know everyone's name!"

Lois looked at him surprised herself. He must have heard Sarah say her name, but she didn't know how over all the noise.

"I already told Mrs. Claus what I want," Sarah said shyly. She took Lois' hand and put it in Clark's. Then she sat back down with the other kids.

They awkwardly held hands but showed no sign of letting go until Lana cleared her throat. Lois stood back up and wandered over to the window. She distracted herself by looking to see if she could find the truck in the parking lot. Clark started handing out the candy canes he'd brought to the kids. Lois couldn't see the truck from here, but she saw something much stranger. Santa was flying in the sky without a sleigh or reindeer. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Santa was still in the air. She tried to speak but nothing would come out. She had to be hallucinating. She managed to get Clark's attention. He stopped what he was doing and came over to see what the problem was. She whispered. "Clark, tell me I'm not crazy and that you see Santa flying too."

Clark looked out the window and his eyes got big. He closed the curtains in a hurry. "Don't let anyone else look out. I'll go see what's going on."

He gave the candy canes to Lana to finish handing out, while he explained he was having trouble with one of the reindeers to the kids. Then he dashed out.

Once Clark was outside, he whispered, "Kara, meet me behind the hospital."

When Clark got there, Kara was waiting in her Santa costume.

"What in the world are you doing?" he asked her.

"You said Santa flies. I thought the kids would get a kick out of it."

"First of all, he flies in a sleigh driven by 8 tiny reindeer and second of all, you're not actually supposed to see Santa fly because he's not real."

"You're no fun," she rolled her eyes and took off.

Clark shook his head, "And don't let anyone see you."

They stayed with the kids until lunchtime and then said their goodbyes. Lois kept looking at him. He knew she wanted an answer for the strange occurrence. Once they were in the elevator, she asked, "Well?"

"It was a decoration for the hospital. It fell off the roof."

Lois looked like she was going to accept that. That was the great thing about Lois. She didn't ask questions that he didn't want to answer, even though she knew there was something more to it. Why hadn't Lana given him that courtesy? Maybe then he would have felt comfortable telling her about his secret on his own. He thought about how he was going to spend the rest of the day trapped alone with Lana, who would either yell at him or try to pressure him into being intimate. He silently prayed for intervention, hoping Lois would need him to do something else.

"I have plenty of time to work on my article today," Lois said. "I think I'm going to work on it at the Planet to keep Chloe company."

"Chloe's feeling lonely?" Clark said, seeing his way out.

"Don't even think about it. We're going home," Lana said, dragging him off the elevator. She certainly wasn't a jolly elf. Sometimes he felt like a prisoner in his own home. He wished he was going to the North Pole with Mrs. Claus like he'd told the kids. He smiled, picturing himself with Lois at the fortress. Then he looked at Lana. He had to get a grip.


	9. 9 Ladies Dancing

_On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me… _

Lois was in front of the mirror, putting the last touches on her makeup.

Chloe came up behind her, "And whose heart are you trying to break tonight?"

Lois put her lipstick in her purse and clasped it shut. "Nobody's. Can't I look nice for a party without it being for a man?"

"Wow, you're touchy."

"I'm sorry. I haven't been feeling well lately."

"I've noticed. Maybe the dance will cheer you up."

"Yeah, maybe," although it didn't look like Lois was really convinced. "I don't know why we're invited to Mrs. Kent's Christmas political function."

"Because it's work for you, and it's still Mrs. Kent's party, meaning she can invite whoever she wants. She wasn't going to leave us out."

"But mostly it's a way of schmoozing with the local politicians and wealthy campaign contributors."

"Exactly. The party for friends and family is on Christmas Eve, so don't get bored and try to expose another Watergate while we're there."

"Innocent little me?" Lois asked, batting her eyes playfully.

"I know you. There's rumors going around about the mayor, and you're getting tired of the Christmas pieces."

"I'm tempted, but I'll behave myself for Mrs. Kent."

"Good. Now let's go. We're late," Chloe said, leading the way toward the door.

The party was being thrown at a fancy, new restaurant in Metropolis. There were close to a 100 people there. Clark still managed to spot them when they arrived and waved them over. Lana was linked to his shoulder. Lois knew she was going to have a miserable time now. She should have found a date to bring, so she at least didn't look pathetic.

"Would you like to dance?" Clark asked Lois.

Lois was too stunned to answer. She'd never actually danced with Clark before, and now that she knew her feelings for him and a slow song was playing, she didn't know if it was such a good idea. Not to mention, it would make Lana angry.

He seemed to sense Lois' hesitancy and Lana's grip tightening on his shoulder. "And then I'll have a dance with Chloe."

Lois and Lana seemed to feel better after he mentioned Chloe. Lana let go, and Lois said yes. Before Lois could change her mind, he whisked her out to the dance floor.

She knew it was a bad idea, but she decided to let go of her anxiety for a little while and just enjoy being close to Clark.

"You look nice tonight," he whispered right next to her ear.

"So do you," she whispered back. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea, "for a farm boy."

He smiled, knowing the farm boy was an afterthought.

Lois was about to lay her head on his shoulder, when a man came up behind Clark and tapped him on the shoulder. "May I cut in?"

"Bruce Wayne!" Lois exclaimed, breaking from Clark and hugging him. "You can cut in anytime you want. How have you been?"

Clark was standing with his arms folded, and he cleared his throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lois said still smiling. "Bruce Wayne this is Clark Kent. Clark Kent this is Bruce Wayne."

The 2 men shook hands. Bruce drew his hand back. "That's quite a grip you have there. I'm a big fan of your mother's," he said amiably. "She's doing great things up in Washington."

Clark only gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded. He had heard the spoiled billionaire from Gotham City left trails of broken hearts, and he didn't want him having anything to do with Lois. Lois had different sentiments. "You can go dance with Chloe now," Lois told him.

Clark sighed and headed for the table where Lana, Chloe, and Kara sat and took a seat.

"What's the matter with you?" Chloe asked.

"Lois. She always hangs out with the wrong guys."

"And who are you to judge that?" Lana asked. "You just met him."

"I can tell."

"He doesn't look so bad to me. How about you take me for that spin around the dance floor?" Chloe asked.

"Not right now," Clark said darkly, as he picked at the food on the plate Lana had brought him. "I wish I knew what they were talking about."

"If that's all that's bothering you," Kara said with a smile. "He just said remember when you stuck that cricket down sensei's shirt. She said he asked for it by making them train right through lunch."

"That's where she knows him from," Chloe said, snapping her fingers. "I remember her saying now she met him at karate camp when they were kids. They stayed in touch ever since."

"Yeah, apparently they got in a lot of trouble together," Kara said. "That's not so hard to imagine. Now they're arguing who can take who. Apparently Bruce is the better one. Lois has only beaten him twice. She says how about they take it outside and make it 3. He's just laughing.

"It's kind of rude to eavesdrop, isn't it?" Clark asked.

Kara shrugged and stopped listening. Clark pretended to only be eating, but he couldn't help it. He had to listen.

"It doesn't really seem like a Christmas party, does it?" Lois asked. "These boring political, socialite parties are all the same."

He laughed. "I guess they are. I'm so used to them that I don't even notice anymore but to be fair there are a few lights and poinsettias, and don't forget the orchestra is playing Christmas music."

"It's still boring. Someone needs to spike the eggnog."

"Let me guess, that someone's going to be you?"

"If not me, who? Somebody needs to liven the place up. Seriously though you want to sneak out of here and go someplace more exciting?"

"I can call Alfred to pick us up. He's driving the limo," he whipped out his cell phone, and they started to head for the exit.

Clark went over and blocked the exit. "Where are you going?"

"You'll have to forgive him," she told Bruce. "Sometimes he thinks he's my mother."

Clark was about to respond, but Lana, who had followed, beat him to the punch.

"That's it!" she screamed. "I can't take this anymore!"

The room instantly fell silent. Even the orchestra stopped playing. The silence didn't deter Lana though.

"I'm sick of it!" Lana screamed. "We're over!"

Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was surprised more than anything else. "Why?"

"Why? Why? She knows why!" Lana said, pointing to Chloe. "She knows why!" she continued, pointing to Kara. "She knows why!" she said, pointing to Martha. "He knows why!" she said, pointing to Bruce. "I bet everyone in this whole stinking room knows why, maybe even in the world! Everyone but you that is. I was going to wait until after the holidays to break up with you, so I wouldn't dampen the season, and I certainly didn't mean for it to happen in a public arena, but I just can't take it anymore. We've tried to hold on and make this work for too long. It's time to let go of the past. It has been for a long time. I'd rather spend Christmas with Aunt Nell, someone I know loves me and is happy to have me around. I know we'll both have a much merrier Christmas this way," and she flounced out, and Clark didn't try to stop her.

The orchestra hesitantly began to play silent night. Clark, not saying a word, went out to the balcony alone.

Lois turned to Bruce, "I'm sorry, change of plans."

"I thought so. I don't even know that lady, but she was right. I do know why. You love him, and it's obvious he feels the same way, even if he's not fully aware of it yet."

"You're delusional," she told him.

"Maybe. Good luck. I'll call the next time I'm in town. Maybe we can go out for lunch or something."

"Sure," she said and then went to talk to Clark.

He was leaning on the railing, looking at the stars.

"I brought you food," she said in her best cheerful voice. "I can't identify half of it, not enough experience with rich people's food I guess. I think this is a crab puff. I wish just once they'd have some greasy fries or candy bars, you know wholesome food."

He didn't answer her.

"I know it sucks being dumped like that and so close to Christmas."

"No, she was right. It was past time. I know I should feel really upset about the breakup, but I don't. You know I never would have made the first move. I don't like to hurt people. I'm glad she did. There might have been a better time or place but at least it's over."

"Then what's bothering you?"

He shrugged.

"It's not Bruce, is it? I mean I don't see what business it is of yours, but he's like a brother to me. It would be too weird to even attempt to date him."

"I guess I kind of got that vibe, but I figured that was one place in your life that belonged to me."

"I do not think of you as a brother. I mean I should. We lived together and fought like siblings, but I never felt that way. You're a very close friend though."

"It's just everything is changing."

"It's supposed to. That's life, Clark."

"I know, but it's happening too fast. My father passed away. My mother moved. Chloe had less time for me when she started dating. The only part of my youth I really had left was Lana. Did you know Kara wants to get her own place? You know where that leaves me? I'll be all alone on the farm now. I'll only have the animals to keep me company."

"You don't think people will visit?"

"I know they will, but it's not the same thing. It's where I grew up. There has always been other people there. Now it'll just seem like a hollow reminder of the past."

"Maybe it's time for you to get your own place then."

He looked at her like she was crazy.

"You don't have to stay on the farm. You can rent it out to somebody who wants to give farming a try. When your mom's done with her political career, I know she'll want to move back in. That way you don't lose anything, but you get to move forward. Don't use the farm as a way to hold onto the past. You know I'm going to be looking for an apartment in Metropolis pretty soon. Why don't we search for apartments together?"

"Why are you moving to Metropolis?"

"Are you kidding me with gas prices constantly on the rise? I can't afford the commute anymore. Come on, it's time to embrace some change. You'll like the change of pace."

"The fast pace, you mean."

"You know you'd like it. Just give it a whirl. The farm isn't going anywhere if you don't like it. I know you can find a job. Perry talks about you all the time. Apparently you saved his life or something. I bet he'd hire you in a heartbeat."

He smiled. "Okay."

"That's a boy, Clark," she smiled back.

"You haven't called me Smallville in the last few days."

"Why you miss it? I thought you were insulted by it."

"I know it's a term of affection. I mean not affection but-"

She laughed. "I know what you mean." She cast her eyes down. She did know it was affectionate, which is exactly why she hadn't been using it. "I know things have been a little weird between us. It's because I…"

"You what?" he wanted to know.

"I think there's been enough excitement for one night, don't you?"

"Not if it's good excitement," he said. "I hope you don't get mad, but I didn't get you 9 dancing ladies tonight. I kind of figured since we were going to a dance and there'd be—"

"That's fine."

"I could give you 9 dances."

"That sounds good to me, but I'd better get real lords tomorrow," she warned teasingly.

"The 9 ladies stand for the 9 fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control."

"Well, now that that's out of the way, are you ready to face the crowd, Smallville, and dance till you drop?"

"Let's go," he said, heading toward the door.

"Look on the bright side. You've got a 150 dollars coming your way with the refund on Lana's present that you can use to spend on me."

"I'm so lucky," he said jokingly, as he held the door and let her walk through first. "Very lucky," he said seriously but so that she couldn't hear.


	10. 10 Lords A Leaping

_On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

Lois came by the farm feeling chipper. Everything seemed more cheerful when Clark and Lana weren't dating. "Good morning, Smallville," she said, opening the door without bothering to knock today. "Has Lana already moved out?"

"Yeah," he said, sounding distracted. He was reading the Daily Planet. "Have you read the paper today?"

"No, does it have something to do with my article? I didn't put your breakup in it if you're worried about that. It didn't really have anything to do with a tradition."

"You didn't, but someone else did," he said, holding up the front page for her to see. It read 'Senator's Son Gets Dumped at Political Affair'.

"I don't like it, but that's the life of the paper. The news was kind of slow yesterday. I bet other papers are running it too."

"It gets better," he said and then started reading it out loud. " 'Kent's longtime girlfriend screamed that she was leaving him in front of the entire crowd. She hinted that he had a secret lover.' "

Lois, who had poured herself a cup of coffee and taken a drink, spit it back out into her cup in laughter. "You, a secret lover? This journalist obviously never met you. How in the world did they get that idea?"

"Oh, there's more. 'This claim gained more credence as Kent spent the rest of the night on the arm of another woman, not upset in the least. His lover was none other than the Daily Planet's own Lois Lane, whose column you can find on page—"

"What? This is bull!" Lois exclaimed, grabbing the paper away. "I'm calling Perry right away, since when did the Planet turn into a rag?" She pressed a number on her cell phone. "Perry! This is Lois. How could—" she stopped and listened. "I guess that explains it all, doesn't it?…Yeah, I know you're sorry. It's not your fault. See you later."

"What did he say?"

"It's Lex, of course. He said if Perry didn't run the piece on the front page, he was going to fire him. The sleaze ball owns the paper right now. I still don't see how Grant or Julian or whoever got all the blame for the corruption."

"He was Lex's scapegoat," Clark said simply. "He wasn't blameless, but he doesn't deserve to be rotting in jail for Lex's crimes."

"I'm going to find a way to bring Lex down."

"Not this again," Clark said. "It's too dangerous."

"I can't take working for him anymore and more than that, he has to be stopped."

"Can it wait until after Christmas?"

"Will you help me if I do?" she asked.

"I guess I'll have to, if I'm going to keep you out of trouble."

"You flatter yourself. It'll be the other way around. I talked to Perry earlier and he is willing to hire you."

"Good, then I get paid to baby-sit you," he teased her with a smile.

She swatted him with a paper. "Be nice to your secret lover." Then she opened the paper back up. "I'd love to go after him now."

"Go after who?" Martha asked, coming into the room.

"The grinch who owns the paper and restricts the freedom of the press or prints trash. You know what I'd really like for Christmas, a new owner of the Daily Planet."

"Well, if you've finished letting off steam," Clark said, "today's event is ice skating, so let's get going."

"Ice skating?" Lois said uncertainly.

"Yeah, ice skating. Is there a problem?" he said, as he stood there with the door open.

"No problem," she said, following him out.

Martha, who was looking very thoughtful, picked up the phone and began dialing.

A little bit later, they were at the ice skating rink. Clark had already laced up and was waiting on Lois. Lois was taking her time putting on the rented shoes.

"Do you want me to help?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"Lois, you've been at it for 5 minutes. Are you sure you don't need any help? Did you get the wrong size?"

"No," she said, finishing the double knots. She stood up and slowly and clumsily walked toward the rink. She almost lost her balance, but he took her arm and steadied her until they got over there. He stepped out first. He spun around and waited for her to follow.

She took a deep breath and stepped out onto the ice and then felt herself start to fall back. Before she actually hit into the ground, Clark was behind her and had caught her. "Something tells me you don't know how to ice skate."

"Something tells me you're right."

"So why didn't you say anything?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I can roller skate. I didn't think ice skating was that different."

"And you don't like admitting you can't do something."

"That too," she mumbled.

"You're right it's not too much different from rollerblading. I'm not the best ice skater in the world, but I've been practicing a lot. I can help you learn."

"Okay," she sighed. "Teach me. I don't see how this qualifies as a Christmas tradition though."

"You'll see. The first thing you have to do is relax. I'm not going to let you injure yourself. See, I'm holding your hand. If you don't relax, you're more likely to fall."

She relaxed a little.

"Okay, now bend your knees to the point that you can't see your toes. Got that?"

"I can't see my toes."

"Good and just in case you do fall, here's a tip, ball your hands into fists when you catch yourself because if you leave your fingers spread out, the blades are sharp enough to cut your fingers off if someone skates on them." He felt her tense up. "You're not relaxing."

"What do you expect? You just told me I could loose my fingers."

"I won't let you loose your fingers."

It wasn't long before she'd gotten the hang of it, and Clark didn't have to hold on.

"You want to race?" Lois asked.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. You're still a beginner."

"Afraid you're going to loose, Smallville?"

Before he could answer, a voice came over the speakers. "All skaters clear the rink."

When all the skaters started rushing for the gate, Lois tensed up and couldn't keep up with the crowd. Clark took her arm and waited until it cleared out and then they started to glide for the exit, but Lois lost her balance because somebody had dropped something on the ice and because he was holding onto Lois, he lost his balance too. He had enough control to turn around so that he crashed into the wall first and then she crashed onto him, but at least they didn't fall down on the ice. They seemed to forget where at they were at, as they got wrapped up in the intimate position.

"Lois… I…."

"What?" she whispered almost fearfully.

"I think I love—reindeer."

"What?" she asked in a confused, normal toned voice.

He pointed to the reindeer that were starting to come onto the ice rink. "That was the Christmassy part of it. The reindeer are practicing their show here."

They finished skating to the gate and then sat down on the bench to watch the costumed skaters perform.

"There are 10 of them, in case you didn't notice, made up of 10 real men, and if you watch, they leap on the ice. See that's 10 real lords like you wanted."

"That's not exactly what I had in mind."

"They stand for the 10 commandments."

"Wait, isn't there only 8 reindeer? Why do they have 10?"

"There are 9 if you count Rudolph. You can also include Leroy, the redneck reindeer."

"What?"

"It's a real song. He's Rudolph's cousin. They're the best ice show in the tri-county area. "

"Boy, are we lucky," she said sarcastically.

He smiled and then turned to watch.

She swallowed hard. Lana wasn't an excuse anymore. The thing that scared her about possibly starting a relationship with Clark was that it would go wrong, as all of her relationships went no matter how perfect it seemed to be going. Besides, there was no telling what he had been about to say. Maybe he loved ice skating. She didn't know if he did it consciously, but he was still holding her hand. It felt nice and right. For now, she was just going to enjoy being close to him and not worry about what was going on between them.


	11. 11 Pipers Piping

_On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…._

Lois walked around with a plastered, fake smile on her face. The Christmas Eve party was great. There was cheery Christmas tunes in the background, amazing homemade food and drink courtesy of Martha, everyone was laughing and having a good time. Lois should have been able to join in the festivities, but she felt kind of empty. She just couldn't join in on what she couldn't feel. She needed to be alone and go somewhere where she could breathe a little. The first place that popped in her head was the loft.

She sat there on the top of the stairs for a few minutes, just taking in the quiet of the loft.

Clark walked in. "What are you doing out here alone?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm feeling a little down I guess."

He came over and sat down beside her. "Maybe my present will cheer you up."

He handed her a CD. It was titled '11 Piper Piping'. It was instrumental Christmas music.

"I'll bite this time. What do 11 pipers piping stand for?"

"You're starting to get interested in it, aren't you?" he smiled.

"Just tell me."

"They stand for the 11 faithful disciples."

"Thanks for the CD," she said, sitting it beside her. "I'll listen to it when I go to bed."

"Something's still bothering you," he stated.

"I know," she sighed, "and I don't know what it is. Actually that's not true. I do know what it is. It's just that it's Christmas Eve. I've participated in all these Christmas things, and it's done nothing for me. I don't feel like it should be Christmas tomorrow. It feels hollow and commercial and forced. Where's the Christmas magic? I can see it in other people, so I know it exists, but why don't I feel it? Where's the magic?"

Clark leaned over at that moment and kissed her. The kiss was slow and hesitant at first and then became more intense as they drew closer. They pulled away at last to catch their breath.

"That was magical," Lois said with a smile, "but not quite the magic I had in mind."

Clark smiled back and looked at her fondly.

Lois suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and she stood up and walked to the other end of the room.

Clark followed, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I just…what's happening between us? What does the kiss mean?"

"It means I like you a lot," he said, taking her hand, "and I hope it means you like me too."

"I do like you. That's what scares me. What if it all goes horribly wrong?"

"And what if it goes right? We have to try pursuing this, but no matter what, I will always be your friend."

"That's what everyone says at the beginning."

"I mean it. We can't know the future but worst case scenario, maybe we'll have a great time together but we'll never be more than friends. Best case scenario, maybe we'll finally have found the person we're meant to spend the rest of our lives with."

"But you just got done with a relationship. I mean I know how we feel, but we're opposites in so many ways. What if we're going too fast?"

"Fast? We've known each other for 4 years. If anything, we're too slow. I'm not asking you to get married. Let's just go out like we always do, except now we're allowed to kiss. There's nothing wrong with that, and we'll take it one step at a time."

"Okay," she nodded and then they kissed again.

"I'm sorry," Clark apologized out of the blue.

"For what?"

"I know we haven't spent a lot of time together lately,"

"We've spent 11 days together so far."

"I mean before that. I knew that Lana didn't like it when I spent too much time with you and because I didn't want to add more strain to an already rocky relationship, I saw less of you."

"I think it's honorable. If you spent so much time and effort in trying to make a relationship with a girlfriend work, I can only imagine how much effort you'll spend on a marriage. It's how it should be. If more people were like you, there'd be less divorces and broken homes."

"You want to go back to the party?"

"Let's not tell anyone about us yet, Smallville. I'm still trying to process it myself."

"Whatever you want, but we better hurry. I have a feeling the punch isn't going to last much longer." He saw that she didn't look eager to get back to the party. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"Still on the anti-Christmas kick I suppose. I want to feel it. I can see the sparkle of excitement you get in your eye when you talk about Christmas, but I just don't feel it and it's draining to act like I do."

"I think I may have a solution."

"I'm willing to hear it."

"Our church is having a midnight Christmas Eve service. Why don't you come with us?"

"You think the way to get my seasonal grumpiness and depression out is to wake me up in the middle of the night in the freezing cold to go listen to a dull sermon?"

"I think you'll like it. You might find some of that magic you're looking for. At the very least, you'll have something to write about for your last article."

"I must be crazy, but I guess I'll try it."

They started to head back for the party.

"So what did you get me for Christmas?" she asked with a grin.

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see."

"Come on. If you tell me what you got me, I'll tell you what I got you."

"I already got the best possible Christmas present. I don't want anything else," he said, bringing her into another kiss.

She lazily pulled away, her arms still wrapped around him. "That was a nice distraction, Smallville, but I still want to know what you got me for Christmas."

"I tell you what. If you can catch me before I make it to the house, I'll give you a hint."

"You're on."

She let go and gave him a head start on running. She tackled him to the ground before he got halfway there. "Now give me my hint if you want me to release you."

He laughed, as she had him pinned down to the ground, not knowing he could have easily gotten away if he had wanted to. "Okay, here's the hint. I think you'll like it."

"You are such a cheater." It had started to snow while they were in the loft and now a light dusting lay on the ground. She tried to pack some of it into a snowball, but it was too powdery. "I'm going to stick some of this snow down your shirt."

Kara came out onto the porch. "I found them," she hollered back into the house. Then she laughed, as they struggled to stand up quickly. "What have you two been up to out here?"

"Nothing," they said simultaneously.

"If you say so," Kara said, "but, Clark, you better not let your mother catch you unwrapping anything but the presents."

They both were very crimson as they went back into the house.

"And watch out for that mistletoe," Kara warned with a laugh.


	12. 12 Drummers Drumming

_On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…_

"Lois, wake up. Lois?"

Lois heard Clark's voice calling her through the darkness that covered her, and she wondered if maybe she had only dreamed that she and Clark were a couple now, but as she opened her eyes, she remembered where she was at and where they were going. She was on the Kent's couch, and she had fallen asleep watching a Christmas movie marathon. The party had ended hours ago. Now it was time for the Christmas Eve service.

As she stood to her feet, she groggily wondered where the coffee could be and what the heck had possessed her to agree to this. She hadn't been sleeping well lately and now that she was rid of enough emotional baggage to sleep, she couldn't. Clark came with her coat and helped her into it, as she still wasn't functioning yet, and slipped a cup of coffee in her hand. Then she was being pushed outside toward the truck by Clark with Martha and Kara following, and they were all too awake for her taste.

The sanctuary was lit up with all kind of lights. Everyone got a candle when they came through the door. When the sanctuary was filled, they started singing Christmas songs. Lois was starting to wake up more because they were forced to stand, but when they were allowed to sit, she leaned against Clark's shoulder and kept dozing. Clark would smile and nudge her awake. At last, she was awake enough to start paying attention to the sermon. The preacher was telling the story of Christmas. When he finished, she sighed.

"You know it's a beautiful story, whether it's true or not," she whispered to Clark. "A world without hope that was supposed to perish because of their immorality and foolishness. Yet, God loved them still."

"He loves all people, no matter what world they're from because He is the creator of all things."

"Sure if there are other worlds. So He came down in human flesh to pay for our sins, entering the world as a baby. It's the most amazing love story in history."

"But you don't believe it?" he asked.

"I've always been very open to what I can't disprove, but at the same time I need the evidence. I'm not saying there's not life on other planets, but I want to see the alien before I make up my mind completely. By the same token, I'm not saying there is no God, but where's the proof?"

"Everywhere," he said, "if you're willing to look." Kara lit his candle and he turned to light Lois'. "You don't always need the physical evidence, although there's plenty of that, you just have to have faith. The spiritual side is more real than this fading world. The heart is wiser than the brain."

Lois turned to pass the light to the elderly lady beside her. In that moment, it began to click. Christmas suddenly wasn't just another holiday. She understood it more than she ever had before. The emptiness began to disappear and a complete, filling happiness took its place. Everything was right now in every way imaginable. The sanctuary was even brighter and warmer from all the tiny flames. Lois was glad Clark had talked her into coming.

She remembered getting in the truck and writing a quick article, her final one, but she didn't remember falling asleep. She must have though because the next thing she knew Clark was laying her in his bed.

"My article-"

"I've already sent it to Perry. Since it's technically Christmas, I got you your last present for the 12 days of Christmas."

She smiled sleepily. "What is it?"

"It's a DVD of the Little Drummer Boy. I know it's kind of corny, but it was my favorite Christmas cartoon when I was little."

"Don't lie, Smallville. It still is."

He continued, "It's not exactly 12 drummers, but it's close enough. I bet he plays at least 12 rum pum pum pums. It's such a sweet story. He has nothing to give the baby Jesus but his talent, which is playing the drum."

"I know the story," she said, fighting to stay awake. "So what do the 12 drummers stand for?"

"The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles' Creed: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into the grave. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting."

"There is no way you know all that off the top of your head," she said with her eyelids shut.

"You're right. I had to memorize that one."

"I'm always right, and you might as well learn that in the beginning of this relationship."

He laughed softly and kissed her forehead. She had finally drifted off to sleep. He went downstairs to sleep on the couch.

sss

Clark had to wake Lois up to tell her it was time to open presents. Chloe and Jimmy had come over to open presents too.

Martha gave Lois an envelope. "This was a gift I couldn't wrap."

It was a Christmas card and a note. Lois couldn't believe it. "Really?" she asked Martha.

"Really," Martha replied. Everyone wanted to know what it was.

"Lex Luthor doesn't own the Daily Planet anymore," Lois said.

"Lois said it was what she wanted for Christmas. I know a guy who was looking to sell his news station and get a paper instead. Lex was willing to trade. Of course, it means he has a TV station now."

Lois smiled. "It's perfect and just what I wanted. As long as he's not my boss anymore, I can do my stories. I have a feeling he's not going to be owning anything for much longer."

"From your mouth to God's ears," Jimmy mumbled. "Thank you, Kara," he said, holding up a gift card.

"I figured you could do your own stinking shopping and that way you're sure to get what you want," Kara said.

He stood up and kissed her cheek. "That's really thoughtful. I appreciate it."

Lois smiled. Everyone knew now what they were getting from Kara. Gift cards did solve stress and guarantee the person would like it. She quickly opened the present Clark got and gasped in delight. She held it up. It was a charm bracelet that sparkled in the early morning light. It had all 12 gifts from the song, dangling as little gold ornaments. "I love it."

Clark held up the present she had gotten him, it was a dark pair of glasses and a journalism for dummies book. "Thanks," he said, looking a little confused.

"I know it seems dumb at first, but you won't believe how much time I spent obsessing over what to get you. I didn't buy it until yesterday actually. It was the book I read when I got a job as a journalist. We didn't-finish-college people need to read something on the subject."

"That's wonderful, but what are the glasses for? I can read the book without them."

"They're not real prescription lenses. For some reason, I can't picture you working in the Daily Planet without them and you'll look…"

He gave an extra wide smile. "I'll look what?"

"Distinguished," she said, but it was clear she had been aiming more for something along the lines of handsome.

"Thank you, Lois. They're really great," he said, putting on the glasses.

They finished opening up their presents. Then everyone pitched in on cleaning up the wrapping paper. Lois pulled Clark under the doorway and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Clark Kent."

"Merry Christmas, Lois Lane."

"Uh-oh," said Kara. "What did I tell you two about getting under the mistletoe? Now you're going to have to kiss each other in front of everybody."

Everyone stopped picking up paper to watch.

"Let's give the people what they want," Clark said with a smile.

They kissed and there were cheers and whistling and laughter from their audience.


	13. epilogue

"By the power invested in me by the state of Kansas, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Clark obeyed the preacher and kissed Lois. The organ music played, and they were on their way out. They had to get out of there quickly. They'd had a Christmas Eve wedding, and the church had to be cleared for the Christmas Eve service later. The sanctuary had already been decorated with a Christmas tree, lights, and other Christmas decorations. Lois had a beautiful winter wedding dress with silvery snowflakes subtly embroidered into the dress. They'd chosen Christmas Eve because it was the day they'd finally gotten together. They'd exchanged Christmas presents with the family early, since they were going away on their honeymoon.

They were having the reception at the Kent farm. The place was bustling with their friends and family and those people you didn't know were your family until a special event such as a wedding arose.

Shelby nudged his way between them, taking turns licking Clark and Lois' hands.

"Have you thought about letting Shelby live with us at our apartment?" Clark asked her.

"Yes, and the answer is no. I'm not staying doped up, so the dog can make my life miserable. Shelby's perfectly happy living on the farm with your mother."

"You know Shelby is your stepdog now," he said with a smile.

"That's a horrible thing to remind me of. This is supposed to be a happy occasion."

He laughed and kissed her. "I'll be right back. I'm going to snag us some punch before it's all gone."

Lois went to her purse, and Shelby followed her. She pulled out a rawhide bone made to look like a candy cane. "As long as you're my stepdog, here's your Christmas present, and you better not tell anyone I gave it to you."

Shelby happily took it with a wag of his tail and went off to chew it.

Clark was smiling when he brought their drinks.

"You heard that, didn't you? Darn those ears of yours."

"Those ears have come in handy saving your life once or twice I believe," he joked.

"Save them for an emergency."

The living room had been cleared of all the furniture, so it could be used as a dance space.

"And now," Perry barked over the noise to get everyone's attention, he was used to a noisy newsroom and was probably the only one there who could do it without a microphone, "dancing their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Kent is Clark and Lois."

Everyone clapped and cleared a big space for the newlyweds to dance. The song they danced to was the 12 days of Christmas. A lot of people seemed confused by the choice of song.

Lois whispered, "We're probably the only couple in the world whose song is The 12 Days of Christmas."

He laughed, "You're probably right."

"You really are my true love, Smallville."

"And you're mine," he replied.

The End

Have a Merry Christmas!

"_I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11_


End file.
